Adjustable load support



July 2l, 1959 l. v. sTovx-:RN ErA|`v 2,895,712

'ADJUSTABLE LOAD SUPPORT Filed may 21, v1956 2,895,112 ADJUSTABLE LOADSUPPORT Ingram v. smvem and Wendell L. vallee, sheboygan,

Wis., assignors to Blackhawk Mfg. Co., West Allis, Wis., a corporationof Wisconsin i This invention relates in general to improvements indevices for supporting diverse loads in a stable manner, and relatesmore specically to improvements in the construction and operation ofadjustable load supporting saddle assemblages for lifting jacks or thelike.

The primary object of our invention is to provide an improved loadsupporting unit which can be readily adjusted to vary the point orpoints of application of the lifting force applied to the supportedloads by a jack or the like.

It has heretofore been well known practice to utilize jacks of varioustypes provided with saddles applicable to the bumpers of diversevehicles in order to raise and lower the latter. In some of these priorjack assemblages the lifting force was applied to one or more loadengaging saddles through a transverse supporting bar States PatentOfunctioning of a jack assemblage embodying the inven'.-

tion, may be had by referring tothe drawing accompanying and forming apart of this specication in which like reference characters designatethe same or similar parts in the various views.4 I j i Y Fig. l is afront elevation of a typical mechanical vehicle lifting jack having animproved commercial supporting beam and saddle assemblage appliedthereto, `*and showing the saddles disposed close together; v j

'Fig 2 is a part sectional side view of the same lifting unit, thesection havingqbeen taken along the line` 2 2 or beam along which thesaddle or saddles could be 'A slidably adjusted to vary the point orpoints of application of the force; and in case a pair of saddles wereprovided, the distance between these saddles could also be varied bymoving the saddles toward or away from each other. However, in theseprior lifting units, the saddles were either slidable along theirsupporting bar or were welded to the bar which in turn wastelescopically slidable 'within a tubular member, and in either case,the range of adjustment was relatively limited while the coacting saddleand beam surfaces would also oxidize and cling together thus making itdifficult to make any adjustments. l

It is therefore an important object of the presentinvention to providean improved adjustable lifting saddle assemblage in which one or moresaddles carried by a supporting beam are readily disposable either at anend vide an improved lifting jack unit especially applicable m to thebumpers of vehicles, and wherein the position of "f the points ofengagement between the lift and the bumper can be quickly changed .toproduce 'safe-f elevation and holding of the vehicle in raisedcondition;

porting'device for vehicles or thelike,l wherein one'lor more loadengaging'saddles are swingably adjustable to various positions along atransverse carrying beam to which the lifting force is applied frombeneath.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a loadsupporting and lifting accessory which is readily applicable to varioustypes of jacks to provide a lift which is extremely exible in itsadaptations.

An additional important object of our invention is to provide a durableadjustable load support comprising a supporting bar or beam and one ormore work engaging saddles adjustable therealong to convert theassemblage from a two point lifting device to a single point liftingdevice, and wherein the several parts are prevented from becomingdismantled and lost.

of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the same unit similar to thatof Fig. 1, but showing the load engaging saddlesspread apart to themaximum extent; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top and front perspective view of the supportingbeam and one of the work engaging saddles alone. i

While the invention has ybeen shown; and described herein as having beenapplied to a mechanical vehicle lifting and lowering jack especially,adapted kfor application tothe bumpers of diverse vehicles such astrucksand automobiles, it is not the intent to restrict thev use of theimprovements to such applications; and -it is also contemplated thatspecific descriptive terms employed herein be given the broadestpossible interpretation consistent with the disclosure. i ,11. JReferringrto the drawing, the improved mechanical jack -assemblage-shown therein,. vcomprises` in' *general, a chassis having a base 6 andan upstandingguide 7 and being provided with rear supporting legs Ssecured to the base 6 and guide 7;.,a-rotary screw shaft 9 journalledatits opposite ends in the guide 7 and having a manipulating handle 10secured to its upper extremity while-itsfscr'ew threads coact withlongitudinally movable nut ll'jfan elevator 12 slidable along thechassis guidef7by the nut 11.7and havinga pairof forward projections13.rigid ly secured to the medial portion ofa transverse. barfor beam14the opposite ends of which are provided with stop pins 1S; and a pairV`of load supporting saddles V16 each having several independent workengaging upper surfaces 17, 18 and a lower loop portion 19embracii1gVthe beam 14 between the pins 15. y

The chassis .base 6 and guide 7 may -be formed of structural steel whilethe legs 8 may be constructed of 4fr'netal tubing, and the guide 7isinclined rearv'vardly soaspto position the load within the base,vwhilel the legs 8 lare. bent and provided with jack transporting wheelszlflocatedjnear the bends as shown in Fig.' 2,A the wheel l 55 Y Afurther lmportant object of the mventlon `1s to A provide a simple buthighly effective lifting and sup- 1f and axle assemblage being carried,either `directly by' the legsV 8,`orby,a special wheel-bracket .weldedorbhlwise secured tofthe'legs. Thescrew-'shaft Q'has itsw'oppos'te endsY"mounted in bearings 22 secured .withinthefch s jguide 7 `so rthat thisshaft cannot" move longitudinally but is rotatable by the handle 10, andthis handle may be swung forwardly as illustrated in dot-and-dash linesin Fig. 2, when not in use. The nut 11 which coacts with the screwthreads of the shaft 9 engages an angle iron 23 which is slidable withinand along a rear slot 24 in the guide 7 and is rigidly attached to therear of the elevator 12, and this elevator slidably embraces the chassisguide 7 and is provided with plastic or nylon bearing buttons 25coacting with the outer guide surface.

The present improved load supporting assemblage comprises theapproximately horizontal transverse bar or beam 14 which is formed ofsolid bar stock, and the two saddles 16 which are of identical formationand are constructed of sheet metal or steel plate material and angleiron stock Welded together. The upper Wall portions of each saddle 16are flared outwardly as depicted in Figs. 2 and 4, and the transverseangle iron upon which the load engaging surfaces 17, 18 are formed arewelded-tothese upper wall portions so as to form the saddle socket. Thelower loop portion 19 of each saddle 16 is provided with a pair ofoff-set upper and'lower transverse elements 27, 28 respectively whichare covoperable with the top and bottom surfaces of the beam 14, and thesaddles 16 may be interchangeably rocked relative to the beam 14 fromthe position illustrated in Fig. 1 to that shown in Figs. 3 and 4, orvice versa. The end pins 15 of the supporting beam 14 merely act asstops for preventing the saddles 16 from being removed from thecross-bar.

When the lifting unit has been properly constructed and assembled ashereinabove described, it may be transported from place to place bytilting the entire assemblage rearwardly to cause it to rest upon thewheels 21, or it may be set up for normal use as in Figs. 1 and 2 withthe base 6 and lower leg portions resting upon the ground. If it isdesired to have the saddles 16 coact with a load such as a vehiclebumper with the contact points spaced apart as far as possible, then thesaddles should be positioned against the stop pins 15 with the saddlesurfaces 18 directed upwardly as in Fig. 3. 1f it becomes desirable tohave a single saddle contact point engageable with the bumper, then thesaddles 16 may be rocked toward each other about the beam 14 to upwardlydirect the other saddle surfaces 17 as in Fig. 1, whereupon the twosaddles 16 may also be slid into actual abutting engagement with eachother in central alinement with the jack.

The two saddles 16 may also be moved along the supporting beam 14 to anyintermediate position to present either set of surfaces 17, 18 towardthe load, and when the jack has been properly positioned relative to thework, the handle may be manipulated to rotate the screw shaft 9 and toraise the nut 11 and the elevator 12 until the load is lifted thedesired amount by the saddles 16. While both saddles 16 would ordinarilybe utilized in order to concentrate the load in or near the centralvertical plane of the chassis guide 7, it is also possible to lift loadswith the aid of only one of the saddles 16, and the suspended loads maybe readily lowered by reversely revolving the handle 10 and the screwshaft 9. When the jack assemblage is not in use, the saddles 16 may beswung inwardly and the handle 10 may be swung forward as shown indot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2, so as to occupy minimum storage space.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that thepresent invention in fact provides a simple, compact and durable workengaging saddle aS- semblage which is highly exible in its adaptationsto meet varying conditions of use. The swingable cooperation of thesaddles 16 with the supporting beam 14 combined with the slidability ofthe loop portions 19 along this beam obviously provides means forquickly and effectively locating the saddles in any desired position forproper coaction with the loads, and the'bar and saddle are maintained inassembled condition by the Ypins 15. Whenever a load is applied eitherto the surfaces 17 or interchangeably to the surfaces 18 of the saddles16, the transverse elements 27, 28 of the loops 19 coact with the topand bottom respectively of the supporting beam 14 to electively transmitthe lifting force to the load while holding the saddles rmly inposition. The entire assemblage may be manufactured at moderate costfrom available steel plate, angle iron and metal tubing, and theimproved saddles have proven highly satisfactory and successful inactual use.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction and operation-of the adjustableload support herein shown and described, since obvious modificationswithin the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled inthe art.

We claim:

l. In a load carrier for a vehicle jack, an elongated rigid horizontalbeam having its mid-aortion formed for attachment to the lifting memberof the jack, and a pair of unitary sheet-metal supports slidably andswing ably adjustable relatively to each other on said beam, each -ofsaid supports having spaced side walls flared outwardly and united attheir upper ends to form a saddle by an integral transverse elementprovided with vadjoining load engaging surfaces disposed at an anglerelative to each other while the lower side wall ends are united byintegral upper and lower transverse off-set beam engaging elements toprovide a loop snugly but slidably embracing the beam, said supportsbeing swingable toward or away from each other relative to said beamabout said lower elements to alternately present said adjoining saddlesurfaces to the load at various positions along the beam, and thesupports also being bodily slidable along said beam when swung eithertoward or away from each other to likewise present said saddle surfacesat various positions along the beam.

2. In a load carrier for a vehicle jack, an elongated rigid horizontalbeam having its mid-portion formed for attachment to the lifting memberof the jack, and a pair of load supports slidably and swingablyadjustable relatively to each other on said beam, each of said supportshaving spaced side walls united at their upper ends to form a saddle byan integral transverse element provided with load engaging surfacesdisposed at an angle relative to each other while the lower side wallends are united by integral upper and lower transverse off-set beamengaging elements to provide a loop snugly but slidably embracing thebeam, said supports being swingable toward or away from each otherrelative t0 Said beam about said lower elements to alternately presentsaid saddle surfaces to therload at various positions along the beam,and the supports also being bodily slidable along said beam when swungeither toward or away from each other to likewise present said saddlesurfaces at various positions along the beam.

` References lCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,189,778 Bates July 4, 1916 2,659,455 Green Nov. 17, 1953 2,669,422Branick Feb. 16, 1954

